Culture Shock
by castermerlin
Summary: Developmental Tools, Bauxite, Ammo, Steel, and Fuel. That's all any admiral needs to bring forth the spirits of Japanese warships labelled as Kanmusu. But there are times when you do everything right and the end result is not exactly what was desired. Or maybe it was what was desired but...just not the right type. (The Epic Rehaul of Culture Shock! More details inside)
1. A Lost Child In the Mall

[ _Okay so, I'm assuming you're wondering why I deleted the old Culture Shock fanfiction and reuploaded it. The answer to that is because of a much needed re-write. As I looked through the chapters, I noticed that the writing was poor, attributed to half of the fic being made at late nights, and I generally didn't feel like it was not my best work so I decided to completely re-haul the fanfiction itself._

 _There's a lot of core differences with this version and the old version so I recommend not coming in thinking that its just a simple re-write. I will try my absolute best to update quickly! I've been going through a lot of stuff lately._

 _I'm going to go at this a bit more carefully with this re-write and the plot has changed quite a bit as well along with the addition of new characters as well but still, I hope that you enjoy the new version! Hopefully it came out better compared to the old :P_ ]

* * *

The Fletcher-class were the backbone of the American Navy during World War 2, at least in the destroyer sense. They were mass produced and soon completely dwarfing the amount of destroyers of its Japanese rival, the Fubuki class destroyer.

They were used extensively throughout the war, doing objectives that ranged from facing enemies to protecting conveys to doing sweeps to potentially find enemy submarines and no destroyer did that job better than the lead ship of the class, the USS Fletcher.

She was Fighting Fletcher, Lucky 13. A ship of a promising class with a team of men who helped the plucky destroyer proved herself as a capable combatant during a vital time for America. Fletcher went on to fighting in the Pacific to fighting in Korea and Vietnam and then...nothing.

There was a big black blotch in her memory that prevented her from remembering anything that had happened after Vietnam and Korea. She actually wished that she could remember it because it would certainly help explain the situation she was in.

Fletcher had found herself back in Japan, the country of the people she built to fight against. At the very least, she was surrounded by the presence of Americans but that still didn't help her confusion and nervousness about the entire situation.

Not only was she stuck in an area in a country that she was built to fight but she had no idea what had happened to her. She learned very quickly that she was no longer a ship when she awakened in this strange place. The dates of the calendar were not dates she knew of. She was no longer a large ship made of metal but the exact same thing that the men who served were: human.

She had hair; she had hands and feet; she wore clothes instead of paint; she could hear, speak, touch, see, and smell. The only thing that was still left of her past life as a ship was her name and the memories she retained of all of her battles.

And now she was outside of an office, sitting in a chair as if she was a student waiting for the principal. She didn't know what was happening but she did see a few people go inside, all of them telling her to wait outside as they discussed "important matters". Was it her fault that she was in this mess? She did kind of scream at the top of her lungs when she realized that she was a human.

She was suddenly taken out of her thoughts when the door opened and a group of people in fancy looking uniforms had stepped out. Their uniforms didn't help her try and decipher what year it was either; some of the clothes they were wearing were so extravagant that they could be considered costumes.

"The admiral wants to talk to you, now." One of them had said to her before leaving. She gulped afterward before exhaling a breath in an effort to calm herself down. She might be a human but she was still a ship and the Fletcher was no stranger to admirals...though it wasn't like she could directly talk to one back in the war. Now she could.

Okay, hopefully she won't bite it hard.

Taking a deep breath and exhaling, Fletcher quickly marched into the admiral's office.

[ship]

Admiral Akihiko Sakai deals with a lot of shit. It was almost written in the description of his job as the admiral of the kanmusu program in Yokosuka that he would have deal with it but nothing came as close as what happened today.

Akihiro knew that American ships could be kanmusu or he believed they could. Once Japan had successfully produced kanmusu of their own, it was only a matter of time before the other countries produced their own. Germany, England, Russia, Italy, and even France managed to gain the highly acclaimed "Ship Girls".

Every country managed to succeed...except the United States.

No one could really explain it, they just...didn't come. They tried everything, used the best scientists, the best equipment to produce at least something to prove that it was a success. Yet one of the biggest, if not the biggest, superpower in the world could not produce a single Ship Girl.

At least, until she came along. They couldn't explain it but during a mission, a group of kanmusu had stumbled upon a girl tried to take on an entire fleet of Abyssals on her own; she was the first and _only_ existing American ship girl: The battleship Iowa. Soon, Iowa became the newest transfer to Yokosuka Naval Base after much thought. She would be much more useful over here, a place that still had a strong enough American presence but also had the right supplies to handle kanmusu until the US could properly build a base of their own.

It just makes today's events even more confusing because out of all the things he expected to do, he didn't expect to summon an American kanmusu

It was an average day at the base when the repair ship Akashi came rushing to his office, speaking of a ship girl who called herself "Fletcher" who had questions faster than they can answer them. A quick moment of research later, they learned that they had the kanmusu of the American destroyer that was so well known for her service across three wars, not just World War II.

He would have to inform the American Navy about this as soon as possible, especially since little miss Fletcher might not be the only ship created.

His base had lost a lot of hands since Operation AL and in an effort to replenish the fleet, he had ordered a mass construction which had resulted in a variety of times. If Fletcher had came out of one of those constructions then there was a strong chance that more American ships could be coming.

 _Geez, why am I the one who gets all the strange events?_ He thought as he rubbed his temples.

"Oh my, Admiral." Mutsu said with her usual grin. "It seems the star of the day has entered."

Akihiko looked up and sure enough, Fletcher was standing at the door. Unlike some of the destroyers who looked like they barely were the age of ten, she had the appearance of a girl almost thirteen years old; she had short black hair that was a tad bit unkempt and dark brown eyes.

Her attire reminded him of the school uniforms of children that he would occasionally see walking down the street: a short sleeved white dress shirt, a loose red necktie that has black and white stripes, a red/black plaid skirt, thigh-high navy blue stockings, brown loafers, and a black long-sleeved jacket.

Nervously looking around, Fletcher stepped forward and gave him a salute. "Uhm...DD-445, Fletcher of the USN sir!"

At least, she knew how to salute.

"At ease, Fletcher. This isn't as formal as you think."

Akihiko knew English. While most people he interacted with knew Japanese or could understand what he was saying, English was a universal language and there was always a chance that he could met someone who knew English but didn't understand a word of Japanese. His accent still colored his words but still, even with it, most understood him.

"Well, you're an admiral right?" She said, twiddling her fingers. She didn't seem at all bothered by his accent at all when he spoke his English. "I should try to be polite."

"That is true but just for today, let's drop the formalities and try to get you adjusted." He moved a hand towards the seat placed in front of the desk across from him. "Take a seat so I can inform you about the current situation."

"O-Okay then." Fletcher moved over to the seat and sat down, giving quick looks to Akihiko and Mutsu, before nodding at him.

"Fletcher, I am Admiral Akihiko Sakai and this is my secretary ship, Nagato-class battleship Mutsu." He moved a hand towards the battleship who waved. "You are what humanity calls a kanmusu or fleet daughter, a ship of the past given a human form after being called to defend humanity once again."

"I do remember that...It was as if a voice was telling me to fight again, to come out of the darkness and do my duty once again." She then realized she had interrupted him and quickly bowed her head. "So-Sorry, admiral!"

"It's fine, Fletcher." He said calmly, grinning slightly. "Besides, this is a lot to take in so I don't mind if you have to ask a question or two."

"Well...Could you tell me what year it is? I know it's not when that mess in Korea was goin' on, that's for sure..."

"Of course. It's about 2120 last time I checked?"

2020.

Not 1941.

Not 1943.

Not 1945

Not the got dang 1960s.

 _Two-thousand, one hundred, and fucking twenty._

"WHAT THE FUCK?!" Fletcher screamed out, jumping out of her chair. Her face then turned bright red and she bowed in apology. "So-Sorry admiral for my language but 2120?!" She squeaked out, clearly overwhelmed by the large gap in years since she last was aware of herself. "Holy Cannoli, that's..."

"About 179 years since the beginning of the Pacific Theater, 178 years since your commissioning, and 148 years since your faithful scrapping." He smirked, eyeing her bemused expression. "I am an admiral, it's a part of my job to do research."

Hold the phone, she was scrapped? Just taken to the drydocks and broken apart to be used as someone's dinner spoon? Well that would explain why she couldn't remember anything past Korea.

Fletcher then crossed her arms, grumbling inside of her head. After all she did for the country and they just scrap her? Thank you for your service across three decades, Fletcher! Now go to the scrapyards and become something that will eventually be thrown in the junkyard two years later for something newer!

Though perhaps, it was for the best that they scrapped. After all, to her memory, even someone like Big E got scrapped by the US and she was one of the most treasured boats in the Navy. Even if it was justified, she couldn't help but feel a tad bit upset by it; way to give a hero's welcome, guys.

"It's so long since I first got in the war. Geez, 178 years?" She then let out a whine, kicking her feet up in the air. "Now I just feel old!"

"Hey, there's ships who are older than you on this base so don't think you're the oldest one here. Now, onto more important things." He then coughed, shifting back onto his serious tone. "Fletcher, you are one of the only two existing American kanmusu in the world. This is a very big deal."

"Really? That is a big deal..." Fletcher then blinked, tilting her head in confusion. "Wait, if I'm one of the only two then who's the other?"

"The battleship Iowa. She was recently transferred to this base by America, seeing as I'm the admiral of the kanmusu program here."

"Io-Io-Io..." Fletcher's eyes then became big and starry as the young destroyers clasping her hands together, a wide grin on her face. "IOWA?!"

She did have her memories of the war after all and the famed battleship Iowa was sure as hell in them. Perhaps it was just a common process to have destroyer kanmusu idolize battleships. Their hulking guns, the sound of their cannons, their kanmusu appearances that gave off an aura of dominance. While a destroyer is capable of achieving that, it came fairly easier if one was a battleship.

"Yes, Iowa. She was transferred in order to have better serve during the war."

"War? What war?"

"The war you were summoned for. I'm sure Iowa can fill you in on everything about it better than I can tomorrow." Akihiko then stretched his arms, letting out a yawn before firmly re-adjusting his position. "As said before, you are one of the two existing American kanmusu and more importantly, you were summoned which can mean hope for potentially more American kanmusu but at this time, America does not have the capabilities to take care of you properly. Too many failed summonings had made the country lose faith in the project and they didn't bother to completely upgrade because of that so-"

"I have to stay with you, right admiral?"

 _'She caught on fast!'_ Akihiko then had a slight coughing fit to hide his surprise before looking at Fletcher with a neutral expression. "Yes, that's correct. I'll have to notify my superiors about this immediately and also your Navy as well Fletcher. That will take me awhile but in the meantime, you'll have to stay here with the other kanmusu. Mutsu, do you mind directing her around the base and to the destroyer dorms if she accepts?"

"Your wish is my command, admiral." Mutsu said with a wink.

"So...are you willing to accept these terms, Fletcher?"

There was a slight pause as the destroyer mulled over the idea, carefully and slowly taking everything all in. She then looked to Mutsu and the admiral, breaths baited to see her decision.

"Sure!" Fletcher said, beaming. "You two seem pretty nice and if Iowa is here then I don't think you're bad. Besides, like you said, you're not going to keep my existence secret or anything plus I don't know how to sail all the way to Pearl in this form so what do I got to lose?"

"Oh good, she actually said yes." Akihiko breathed a sigh of relief. He was actually expecting there to be some kind of fight or perhaps he would have to bargain very much in order to get her to agree.

"You actually didn't think she was going to accept it?" Mutsu responded in a deadpan voice before shrugging. "Sometimes I don't understand you admiral."

"Look, even if she lasted well past the second world war, she still could've harbored some ill feelings." He whispered to the battleship. "Just give her the tour already, alright?"

"Oh my, oh my, so aggressive suddenly admiral~." She teased with a giggle before moving to Fletcher. "Come on, Fletcher. I'll show you around the base, okay?"

"Okay then Mutsu!" Even if she was American, Fletcher seemed to been able to pronounce the battleship's name without much difficulty. This is either because of the age of her ship or because she might had picked up on how Akihiko spoke it. Getting up out of the chair, she followed Mutsu out of the office.

Once the two were out of earshot, Akihiko took off his hat and ran a hand through his black hair. A good thing that came out of this is that it proved that American ships could be summoned and it was possible for America to build a strong fighting force. It'll do the worldwide kanmusu program some good if they can get the sheer number of American ships on their side.

However, all good things must have a potential problem to come out of it. Fletcher must have been one of the results of that mass construction he ordered. If she was one of the results then that could mean more American kanmusu.

However, Akihiko and a majority of his ship girls are Japanese. Either they could hold a grudge against the American kanmusu or the other way around. They barely could handle Iowa's presence as it is. Would the potential American kanmusu even respect him as an admiral?

The entire base could go to shambles if more were around besides Fletcher and Iowa. Even though it's happened considerably less, there is still a bit of tension whenever Iowa steps into the room with the Japanese kanmusu.

He sighed, resting his chin on his hand. They'll have to get used to it, that's all he can say on the matter.


	2. Shattered Dreams and Big Guns

Fletcher learned that this base wasn't as occupied as the American bases she was used to. As Mutsu directed her around the buildings during the tour, she noticed that there were far fewer kanmusu that she expected. It wasn't bustling full of men, or ships in this case, but calm and really too spacious for her liking.

"We're a small base recently." Mutsu had told her when the destroyer asked about the lack of presence after the tour had ended. It was by the time it had finished, the sunset basking everything in rays of yellow and orange. "There was a joint mission for all of the kanmusu bases in Japan against a large group of Abyssals. We lost a lot of forces in the fight but we're starting to rebuild our forces."

Abyssals? Fletcher then remembered back to Akihiko mentioning something about a war. Could these Abyssals be the enemy of this supposed war? She needed to find out more about them.

"Mutsu, what are Abyssals?"

"The enemy that we're fighting. They appeared from the sea and have been terrorizing humanity ever since; we were called upon by people like Admiral Sakai to face them but...it hasn't been easy. We've lost a lot of people in the fight, some more personal than others."

The atmosphere in the air shifted as Mutsu's eyes lowered and unknowingly wrapped her arms around herself. Something these Abyssals done must hurt Mutsu, she guessed and even though she's only been in this human body for so long, it was as if her heart was telling her to fight these Abyssals even if she has never seen one. She wanted to press further, ask her about her sudden shift in emotion but something told her not to.

Eventually, the two had made it to the destroyer dormitories. "This is the destroyer dormitory. This is where you'll be living from now on. You'll start school and training tomorrow so it's best that you go to bed early. There should be some pajamas on your bed in your room." Mutsu then smiled. "I hope you have a good time here, Fletcher."

"Eh? Oh, thanks Mutsu. I'll try my best!" Fletcher said with a quick nod.

Mutsu then took her leave, heading off to whatever needed her help at the time and Fletcher turned towards the doors of the dormitory. ' _This is my new life huh? I'm no longer a body of a ship but the body of a human and plus Mutsu said I had training tomorrow. I've been inactive for so long...how is that even going to be like?'_ Fletcher thought. ' _Oh well, I'm the Fighting Fletcher and no challenge is too big for me! I'll have to tackle it like I did all those battles back in the war! Though I feel like I'm forgetting something...'_

It took her three whole seconds to realize it. She didn't know where her room was. The only kanmusu she knew around here was Mutsu. _Uh oh_.

"MUTSU!"

It was a miracle that Mutsu hadn't left too far away from her and was able to direct her to her room. It was now night which meant lights out for the kanmusu on base. She was very grateful that the admiral had given her a set of pajamas to call her own. Sleeping in clothes that she was summoned in doesn't seem like the best bet.

She was the only one inside of the room but when she stepped in, she noticed that it could hold about three people total. Climbing into the top bed, Fletcher tried to maul over what had happened so far. She's an American kanmusu, one of only two American kanmusu in existence, and going to start working for a base that's stationed in Japan and ran by a Japanese admiral. She didn't know whether or not her sisters could be summoned or even her other American comrades.

"At least, Iowa is on this base." Fletcher said to herself. She went back to her giddy starstruck expression she had earlier when Admiral Sakai first mentioned that she was on the base. Iowa was one of the most famous battleships America had, not to mention she was around with Iowa even after World War 2 ended. She couldn't wait to meet her if she got the chance!

Images flashed through Fletcher's mind as she thought about what Iowa might look like in her human form. A tall woman with long black hair, that wore a trenchcoat dress and thigh-high boots that matched the colors of the famous ship, who knew how to stay calm in the heat of battle. Or maybe a woman dressed in regal clothing, fitting for royalty, that carried a stick, no, _a scepter_ with her! Or maybe a tough as nails admiral who had tons of experience behind her! Then there was the fact that she could potentially see Iowa's guns in actions, those beautiful 16 inch cannons roaring once again!

Fletcher let out a squeal and she quickly calmed herself down. She couldn't meet Iowa if she didn't get to sleep. After laying down in the bed, it wasn't long before the little destroyer had fallen asleep.

The next day, Fletcher's morning began with a face full of boobs. It wasn't like she was expecting it; she groggily woke up, got out of her bed, and then turned face first into soft fleshy mounds. She was not used to the sight of female bodily organs when she was a ship.

Stumbling backward while letting out a yelp of surprise, she had landed hard on her bottom. "Ow, ow, ow, owww..." She moaned, rubbing her behind.

"Oh! Are you okay?"

Wait a minute...That was perfect English. ' _Does that mean...?'_

Fletcher looked upward and standing in front of her was a woman with long blonde hair and grayish-blue eyes. She was wearing a corseted bra that proudly showed off her well-endowed cleavage with the number 61 written on the right with a black n' white miniskirt and tights that were painted in the colors of the American flag.

"Wh-Who are you?"

The woman then giggled, giving a salute. "Hi~! I'm the Iowa class battleship Iowa! You must be Fletcher, right?"

What. This woman was Iowa? The Grey Ghost? The Big Stick? The famed lead ship of the most famous American battleship class in modern times? This blonde bimbo was the Iowa?

All of Fletcher's previous fantasies shattered simultaneously in one fell swoop. Clearly, this was a prank. This had to have been a prank. There was no way that this was Iowa! Or at least, this wasn't how she thought this would be Iowa! She thought the world's most famous American battleship would dress like fancy, not like a pin-up girl that you find on planes!

A strange noise that sounded like a cross between a squeak and choking came from the destroyer as she suddenly froze like a statue in front of the battleship.

has shut down. Please wait warmly as it reboots.

Iowa still looked at Fletcher while the destroyer tried her hardest to restart her mind and come to terms with the fact that someone she had been dying to meet in this now human form was not what she intended.

"Helloooo?" Iowa inched a finger towards Fletcher's face but the destroyer smacked it away before it could touch her face.

"I'm alright!" She snapped before rising up to her feet. "Ar-Are you actually Iowa?"

"That's right! I'm Iowa!" Iowa said. "Lead ship of the Iowa class battleships and your trainer for today!"

Oh, how she wished that it was a joke.

[ship]

As a new member of Admiral Sakai's forces, Fletcher had to know what was this war and who were they ever fighting. So far, the only thing she knew was that the enemy was called Abyssals and that they were obviously the bad guys; she didn't know what they looked like or how they fought.

That's where Iowa supposedly stepped in. The head battleship said that she herself had encountered Abyssals and would be able to give her a through lessons about them however Fletcher could barely concentrate on that. She was more concerned with how Iowa got to walk around with such a large rack and not get hurt at all by it. Then again, Mutsu was also walking with her midriff exposed.

Fletcher scrunched up her nose. What, are bullets hitting your chest not a daily fear for people around here?

The school building for the destroyers (and presumably all kanmusu) was roughly the size of an average library and was a nice blend between western school buildings and classic Japanese ones. In order to keep the destroyers who were stationed on the base, Fletcher was given a separate classroom where she could learn from Iowa and also because, even if Fletcher could understand it, the amount of Japanese could possibly be overwhelming to the newly constructed destroyer. Better have an English speaker show her the ropes from the start.

"Right so, you need to learn about the Abyssals!"

"Yep." Fletcher said, sitting at one of the wooden desks. "The ad-mir-al wants me to learn about these Abyssals and get to used to working my weaponry before I can be put out into sorties but..." She then scratched her head. "So what's the deal with them being named Abyssals? Ain't the Abyss that deep part underwater?"

"It's because they came from that very same place, Fletcher." Iowa said with a wink. "It's our job to destroy them before they destroy us. They'll stop at nothing to make sure that we and humanity are nothing but dust under their boots. We Kanmusu are the only weapons that can put a large dent in their forces currently."

"What do these Abyssals even look like?" Fletcher questioned. "And how come we're the only ones who can fight them? I'm pretty sure that we were around when America had those fancy-shamy destroyers with the missles and stuff. Couldn't those do anything?"

"I was hoping you said that."

That's when Iowa got off the table and moved to the chalkboard. She then grabbed down the handle of what looked to be a pull-down map and tugged, revealing what is a diagram of monstrous creatures...at least that's what Fletcher could think they were.

They all had the same bleak color scheme of black, grey, and blue but their shapes were different. Some of them looked like large sea animals with monstrous teeth; some were a ugly cross between human and machine; and then there were some that looked completely human but it was clear from the appendages that they had, and the teeth it carry, that they belonged in the same group as the others.

"These are Abyssals, Fletcher. They'll be what you're going up against." Iowa said. A gloved hand moved towards one of the photos, the one that reminded her of a large sea animal. It's body was shaped like a mechanical fish with two eyes and a bulging brow on its head much like a whale. "This is a I-class destroyer."

Iowa's finger then moved to the next one: twin turret guns stacked on top of each other ontop of what appeared to be a human girl, her whole head covered by the upper jaw of a large creature. In fact, she seemed to be sitting in the mouth as her hands were sprawled out over the lower jaw. "This is a Ho-class light cruiser."

Next photo was one of the most human like creatures: A girl with pigtails with large guns for hands and wearing nothing but a black bikini. "Ri-class heavy cruiser."

The next photo, another humanoid girl with long black hair, sporting a black tank-top, pants, pauldrons, and armed with a pair of cannons that were quite large and 4 turrets on her back. "Ru-class battleship."

Next, a photo of another one of the humanoid creatures; a girl with snow white hair, a black hat with teeth and tentacles, wearing a white and black bodysuit, gloves and a easy to recognize cane. "Wo-class aircraft carrier. These are some of the most common Abyssals you'll meet. There's so many of these creatures, you're bound to meet them when you sortie."

"Speaking of that, how am I going to sortie?" Fletcher asked. "I don't got any of my weapons that made me a ship! If these Abyssals are as bad as you and Mutsu say they are then how can I get rid of them before they kill people?!"

"I was hoping you say that~."

[ship]

Fletcher learned that her weapons came along with her when she became human. It was just that they become accustomed to her new human shape. Instead of large, hulking guns that would certainly fit on her when she was a huge ship made of steel, Fletcher's armament, known as "rigging" according to Iowa, was designed like a backpack.

Her smokestack and mast on her back while her torpedo tubes were attached to her thighs with one of her 5 in guns are attached to her right arm and one in the form of a handheld gun. Her anti-air armament, depth charges/K-guns, and the rest of her main guns were scattered around in her backpack arrangement. All of her guns, now neatly packed in this design.

"Are you sure you can handle this?" Tone said, hesitantly. As one of the few heavy cruisers on base, she was assigned to be the trainer of any and all new kanmusu due to her experience. This was also why she was slightly skeptical of letting the American battleship try and train Fletcher as Iowa still a rookie on the base. Not only that but Tone was very much aware of Iowa's personality.

"Of course, I can handle it!" Iowa said, giving Tone a thumbs up. She was on the waters of the training grounds right besides Fletcher. Her rigging dwarfed Fletcher's by a large margin which was expected as she was a battleship, an Iowa-class at that.

She then looked to Fletcher who was standing on the waters waiting for commands...okay, she was _trying_ to balance and stand correctly on the waters.

This was different than her past life. In the past, she was a boat and thus was built and controlled by humans in order to stay afloat on the waters and they sure as hell knew how to do their job because they kept her afloat for decades.

Now, she was in a human body and unless their name was Jesus Christ, humans couldn't really stay afloat like a boat would.

Instead, Fletcher had to use boots which had her propellers attached to them that allowed her to stand and skate across the waters and since she used to be a boat, she didn't know the first thing about skating. Coupled with the fact that she had to get used to maneuvering her own gear rather than letting humans do the work and you have a difficult challenge for the destroyer to overcome. The fairy crews did help a lot though.

"Now, Fletcher, this is where the training really picks up!" Iowa said, turning to the destroyer. "It's no good to have all that knowledge about Abyssals and not know how to fight."

"But you barely taught me anything." Fletcher deadpanned.

The lesson with Iowa in the classroom was...short. Whether this is attributed to the fact that Iowa was just as new was Fletcher was or because Iowa wasn't one to sit and constantly drone on is unknown. What is known is that it left the destroyer a bit miffed because she was certain there was more to the story than what Iowa told her, especially with the way Mutsu acted when the Abyssals were first brought up.

"Don't worry, you won't need much when you first start out."

"I'm starting to think you don't know much about Abyssals, Iowa."

"Anyway, let's get started with the real training now!"

' _She ignored me completely...'_

"Fighting Abyssals is a lot like how it was when we were ships. We all get in certain formations and shoot at each other, just like in the good ol days?"

"There's more than that!" Tone called out through her megaphone. "We can't just stand like sitting ducks anymore like when we were ships! We have lighter bodies now so we have to dodge any shots the Abyssals send towards while giving out our offense as well!" The heavy cruiser then exhaled a breath. "I'm going to get Admiral Sakai so he can observe Fletcher's progress, alright? Please don't get too wild."

"That would explain these skates." Fletcher noted as Tone left. She then let out a surprised yelp as she hurriedly caught herself from landing in the water, her legs very close to doing a split. Yeah, this skating was going to take a while for her get used to.

Iowa watched the destroyer struggle with her balance and then an idea had popped right into the battleship's head. "Hey Fletcher! I have a way for you to get used to skating better!"

Fletcher looked up at Iowa, curious. Sure, Iowa wasn't what she expected but she was still one of America's finest ships so she supposed any help from her would be beneficial in the end. "Y-You do, Iowa?"

At that, the battleship grinned. "Yep and I'm sure it would work!"

[ship]

"So Fletcher has started her training now?" Akihiko asked Tone as they walked to the training grounds.

"Yep." Tone said with a nod. "I left her with Iowa on the training grounds. I'm a bit worried about it, since its Iowa, but I'm certain that nothing too wild will happen."

"A-Admiral!"

In came running two of the Mutsuki class destroyers, Mutsuki and her sister Kisaragi. Akihiko raised an eyebrow as they put their hands on their knees, exhausted from running. "Mutsuki, Kisaragi, what are you doing here?"

"We-Well it's because..."

The thunderous sound of battleship guns quickly cut Mutsuki off and Tone and Akihiko looked at each other with skeptical looks before turning back to the destroyers. "Rest here. We'll handle the situation."

[ship]

Fletcher was currently running, er, skating for her life.

When Iowa said she had a plan that would help her get adjusted to skating, she didn't expect for her to literally start a sparring match! Sure, destroyers had the capability to take on a battleship, I mean just look at O'Bannon and Laffey who helped out in beating down Hiei, but she was so fresh to this style of fighting that it was a personal hell for her! She can barely move out of the way of the shells and every time she did, her legs buckled, she lost her balance, and she threatened to fall head first into the water!

"Eep!"

Fletcher hurriedly made a hard left as she tried to skate in order to dodge the volley of hot shells from Iowa's 16-inch guns. Another hard turn was made, nearly avoiding running into one of the geysers of water that had risen up when they had hit the water; that hard turn resulted in Fletcher spinning around and around and around until she finally came to a stop, her world spinning.

She has to give some kind of offense or else she'll be toast! Damn it, she was Fighting Fletcher, she shouldn't just let herself be shot to the bottom of the sea by her own ally!

She tried to turn on her heel in order to face Iowa...just as the battleship was ready to fire another round at her, causing the destroyer to widen her eyes. ' _No. come on, Fletcher! You're the Fighting Fletcher! Lucky 13! If aggressive Japanese soldiers can't sink you then you can't let one of your own allies do so!'_

Frightened, she closed her eyes...aimed...and yelled out the first thing that came into her head.

"FREAKIN' TITS!"

The sound of both Iowa's guns and her own ringed in her ears painfully as shells flew into the air.

Along with the shells, _she flew in the air_.

The recoil of all of the guns going had blown Fletcher backwards and launched her right into the air. The destroyer was skipping and rolling across the waters like a rock thrown across a lake until she landed headfirst into the clear blue waters, geysers of white rising up where missed shells landed.

Iowa tilted her head as she watched Fletcher go from skating to sinking pretty quickly. The American battleship slowly moved close to the spot where she had landed in and looked downward. "Huh? Fletcher, are you alright?"

Bubbles started to form and then multiply in the water and then suddenly, out popped Fletcher like a newborn child just being introduced to the world. The destroyer coughed and sputtered as she frantically swam over to the sidewalk, climbing onto it.

"Ju-Just what the hell was that, Iowa?!" She snapped, glaring at the battleship. "You could've killed me!"

It was a miracle that she could be able to swim to the sidewalk. Her clothes were so thoroughly soaked that, added with her rigging, could've dragged her down to the bottom like a rock. Even if she was a so-called kanmusu, she doesn't know much about having a human body.

"Oh, I wouldn't have killed you~." Iowa said, giggling. "You're my ally, after all. Besides, at least it worked. You skated across the water!"

"Ally or not, you don't just fire onto people and-Huh?"

Iowa giggled again while Fletcher looked like a deer in headlights.

"Oh, Fletcher, I would never kill such a cutie like you. I was only trying to get you adjusted to skating and nothing gets people moving and their instincts going like an enemy attack! You were moving so fast!"

"You could've at least warned me!" Fletcher whined, shaking her fists at Iowa. "How would you like it if you were soaked all the way through with water, huh?!"

"Fletcher! Iowa!"

Both of the American kanmusu looked to see Admiral Sakai and Tone running up to the scene. Tone then immediately pointed a finger at Iowa.

"Iowa, what the hell is going on here?" Tone exclaimed, flabbergasted. The battleship merely made an hand sign, her finger touching her thumb to make an open circle, and grinned.

"Nothin'." She replied. "We're just training right, Fletcher?"

Slowly, Fletcher's breathing regulated and she looked at the group before sitting upright. "Ye-Yeah...It was just training."

Soon, it was evening and Fletcher was walking through the hallway of the main building on her way to the admiral's office, now with dry clothes. Training went smoothly once Tone came back and watched over Iowa with a watchful eye and while she didn't have to shakily skate across the water in order to dodge literal shells, she still moved across the water like a newborn lamb trying to walk.

Finally making it to the admiral's office, Fletcher opened the door. "Admiral, I'm here! You wanted to see me?"

"Oh yes, Fletcher." Akihiro put down the papers he was looking at and greeted her with a slight nod of his head. "I want to discuss your training today. Seems that you had quite the eventful day with Iowa, seeing how she decided to throw a sudden practice sortie on you."

"Huh?!" Fletcher was taken aback, eyes widening on the spot. "You know about that?!"

"It's not hard to tell when Iowa is using her guns plus you were soaked to the bone, Fletcher." He then chuckled a bit. "Though I do commend your spirit. Participating in a practice sortie and then continuing practice afterward is quite a feat for a newly summoned kanmusu, I would say."

"Uh...Uhhh...Well, I mean that's my job, right?" She tried to hide her awkwardness by laughing it off, putting a hand behind her head. "I mean I'm the Fighting Fletcher, after all. Me and my sisters caused havoc on the Japanese and their ships so we were built to take tough hits!"

"Yes, I do know that but I think that you should get out of that mindset. Remember: This isn't the 1940s and the same ships you were made to fight against are now your partners."

"I know, I know, ad-mir-al." Fletcher then stretched a bit. "Speaking of, when are any new ships coming? Mutsu told me that this base was super small but it's huge! Huger than Pearl probably! There's plenty of space for people like me!"

"I think what Mutsu meant is that the base is small in number, not size. Another thing Fletcher: Realize that the larger the size of our base, the more supplies will have to be rationed which means you might not get as large of a portion that you do now." Akihiro then relaxed, his serious look becoming a small grin. "However, we should be getting new ships soon enough, either through the way of transfer or by construction so stay patient."

"Fine, Fine, I guess I will, admiral." Fletcher said, crossing her arms.

"FLETCHER~~!"

The door swung open with a loud bang and the sound of Iowa's voice filled the room as she pulled the destroyer into a hug, the poor girl being mashed inbetween the soft mounds that were Iowa's breasts. "Oh, Fletcher, I was looking all over for you! Are you done talking with the admiral?" The battleship squeezed more, sending Fletcher deeper as she let out a squeal. "I know! Let's go to Mamiya's! After all, you need to have your first traditional Japanese dinner!"

"I already had one before! I was summoned yesterday, not today! Now let go of me!"

Fletcher could yell into Iowa's breasts or flail her arms as much as she could but it wouldn't stop Iowa from dragging her away with little difficulty, the battleship chatting away as she exited the office with the destroyer in tow.

The room now quiet (for once), Akihiro went back to the papers he was looking at. Reading the contents that were typed on the white sheets, he raised an eyebrow in the middle of his reading.

"So we'll be getting four new ships this week and the process should follow in that order until all of the developmental tools have been used..."

Perhaps it would be a good thing that the base would soon be filled. Other than the fact that most of the buildings and weaponry wouldn't be sitting around and collecting dust but also more kanmusu meant more supplies and more supplies meant less complaining.

"May God's divine grace keep this base from falling apart if my hunch is correct."


	3. Ice-Cold Training

By the end of the week, Fletcher had become the most talked about thing on the base, even if those talks were mostly hushed whispers and conversations. The fact that a kanmusu of the Allied forces, one that was American, was summoned was a topic that caused a lot of discussion between the kanmusu stationed at the base.

There had been so much news coverage about how the American military had given up on summoning kanmusu of their own after one too many failed attempts so Fletcher's sudden summoning was surprising to all to say the least. However, Fletcher's appearance also did bring up some other discussion and feelings of the past.

It is no secret that America and Japan used to be enemies during World War 2 and it is also no secret that America were victorious during said war and their ships led to the demise of many of the Japanese kanmusu. If Fletcher showed up then what's not to say that more American ships, ships that caused them to sink, were on their way?

Someone who was mulling over these feelings was the aircraft carrier Kaga, a ship that was not only one of the reasons that America finally joined the war but was also one of the early sinkings that was caused by Americans, a very lucky carrier being the one to end her.

The only one inside of the carrier training field, Kaga calmly drew her bow, keeping careful aim on the target that was a distance away from her. The air seemed to become still as she waited, waiting for the perfect chance to release her arrow. Then she let go.

The arrow soared through the air and then became enflamed, the arrow now becoming a squadron of Type 21 Zero Fighters that quickly fired upon the target. The shots from the planes hit it dead-on, right in the bullseye, and the target's top half was shredded to bits from the bullets and what was left was charred to black right on the edges.

Slowly, Kaga lowered her bow and gritted her teeth.

"Still not good enough..."

[ship]

Inside of the destroyer classroom, all of the girls were surrounding Mutsuki. After all, she and her sister ship Kisaragi were the first destroyers to catch a glimpse of the new American kanmusu, a kanmusu that was a destroyer like them.

"What did she look like, Mutsuki?" One of the destroyers in the classroom asked. "You saw her right?"

"We-Well, she had black hair and she was wearing a uniform, I think!"

"Was it like the other American girl's outfit?"

"Hmph! I hope it isn't!" As soon as she said that, the young destroyer Akatsuki had put her nose into the air with a huff. "The outfit she wears isn't one of a proper lady! Isn't America supposed to be all fancy and stuff? An-And she's late too! Shouldn't she be here by now?"

At that moment, the door of the classroom opened with such great strength that the wooden door threatened to break into pieces. "Hello everyone~!" Iowa's chipper voice rang throughout the small classroom as she walked through...with the destroyer that everyone has been waiting for half-dead in her arms. "It's everyone's favorite battleship, Iowa, with the guest of the day!"

Iowa let go and Fletcher dropped pathetically to the floor like a person going through heat exhaustion. She was no match for the battleship's vice grip and her large chest; she won't be able to worry about Abyssals if Iowa kills her with her touchy-feely mom attitude.

"Oh?" Iowa gently poked Fletcher's cheek. "Fletcher, are you alright? You can't slouch while you're in front of people."

"I'm not slouching, you stupid cow." Fletcher grumbled. It's almost shocking to see how Fletcher went from idolizing Iowa to completely dreading her existence; perhaps a small of her still treasures the battle but the first impression she got on her attitude has done shattered her ideals and probably some ribs. "You and your monster tits are going to kill me before the Abyssals do."

"Oh Fletcher, you're so funny!" Iowa giggled. Either she completely ignored Fletcher's jabs or decided to ignore them. She ran her hands through Fletcher's hair, ruffling it up. "Oh well, I can't stay here for long! The admiral has me due for a sortie! I'll talk to you later afterward, kay Fletcher?"

Iowa then left the room, leaving Fletcher in a room of Japanese destroyers, all of whom were looking at her with eyes of curiosity and worry. They had a right to look at her in such a way, after all; As mentioned before, past relationships between Japan and America were anything but stellar and they were previously shooting each other with shells mere decades ago. Even Iowa's presence now still manages to ruffle feathers.

Mutsuki and Kisaragi only caught a glance of her, they couldn't really defer her true personality with just that. Did she have grudges against them? Would she look down on them due to America winning that long ago war? They were absolutely dying to know.

"Finally, she's gone." Fletcher then got up, stretched her limbs, and yawned before giving the others destroyers a salute. "Name ship of the Fletcher-class destroyers, Fletcher. Nice to meet you all." She then scratched her cheek. "This is actually my first time meeting a Japanese ship that wasn't a battleship. Mutsu's been the only one who I've talked to."

After Fletcher's introduction, there was silence. All of the destroyers looked at her and didn't even say a word between each other...and then...and THEN...

"What was that?!" Shiratsuyu said, taken aback at Fletcher's introduction.

"H-Huh?" Fletcher blinked. "What was what?"

"That, that introduction. It doesn't have any confidence!" Shiratsuyu then walked up to Fletcher, throwing her arm around her. "You gotta be proud of the fact that you're the lead ship because that means you're number one, yeah! Like me, I'm Shiratsuyu, lead ship of the Shiratsuyu class destroyers which means I'm number one!"

"I'm proud of being the lead ship of the Fletchers but I don't think that I need to be that wild. Besides, there's plenty in my class that are more fitting of number one, ya know."

"No, no!" Shiratsuyu whined. "You gotta put more feeling into it! You're number one because you're the lead ship! How are you going to get MVP if you don't act like it?"

"M-MVP? I haven't even sortied yet!"

"Come on, Shiratsuyu! You're doing nothing but scaring her, poi!" Yuudachi said, yanking her sister ship away from Fletcher.

"Ahaha, I suppose if I'm a true member of this base, is it alright if I ask for all of your names?" Fletcher questioned. "I already know of Shiratsuyu's."

"I'm Mutsuki of the Mutsuki class destroyers. Hopefully we'll get to work together!" Mutsuki then moved a hand towards Kisaragi who waved at Fletcher. "This is my sister Kisaragi. We're in the same class."

"If we're lucky, we'll all be in the same group for the next sortie." Kisaragi then ran a hand through her violet-red hair. "Ah, I hope the sea breeze doesn't mess it up..."

"1st ship of the Yuugumo-class, Yuugumo." A destroyer with green hair tied in a braid said. "I usually save my spoiling for the Admiral but I can always spoil you, Fletcher~."

"Sp-Spoil me?" Fletcher flinched, taken aback by her statement, before suddenly raising her hands up in surrender. "Please, Iowa does enough of that so can we...you know, not?"

"That's really crude! That's no way how a lady should speak like!" Akatsuki puffed out her chest. "As the lead ship of the Akatsuki class destroyers, I shall be the one to teach everyone here how a proper lady should act like in front of the American!"

"Aww, there's nothing wrong with a bit of skinship...After all, the admiral seems to like it a lot."

"D-Don't be silly! The admiral wouldn't take part in something as dirty as that!" Akatsuki said, now red-faced and flailing her arms. "We need to be well-mannered and proper!"

"Being a lady also means spoiling others a bit.

Meanwhile Fletcher watched the squabble curiously. For a minute, she actually thought that this base would be hostile to her but so far, between Mutsu and the current destroyers inside of the classroom, everything was going well without a hitch.

"Ah, Fletcher." Kisaragi said while Akatsuki and Yuugumo continued their squabble. "Has the admiral assigned you to any sorties yet?"

"Sorties? Uhm...not really." Fletcher said, scratching her cheek. "Ever since I've been here awhile ago and I've only done practices in the training grounds. Though...are you guys the only destroyers on base? I expected there to be more."

"There's more destroyers on base actually." Mutsuki said. "The base used to be filled with many other kanmusu though...most of them aren't around anymore. However we still try out best to do our job defending mankind!"

"Not around anymore?" Between Mutsu's uncomfortable reaction when she first met her to Mutsuki mentioning that the base was formerly larger, Fletcher had the strangest feeling that something had happened and these Abyssals were the cause of it. She didn't know what it was but it had a big effect on the base; She'll have to look more into it later.

But that was something she could do another time. These destroyers were going to be her new teammates and comrades in battle, she should try to at least get accustomed with working with them. "Hey everyone." Fletcher said in an effort to grab the attention of the group. "Think we can do some practice together?"

"Ehhh? Practice?" Shiratsuyu asked before grinning. "I guess it wouldn't hurt~! Besides, I get ya in action too after all!"

[ship]

Kaga was the official ice queen of the base.

She spoke only when she felt like it was needed and many times, all it took was one glare to completely put an end to any foolishness that was happening on base, especially when it was important missions. If there was one thing that the carrier absolutely despised and that was tomfoolery.

They might have gotten a second chance at life, new bodies to replace their destroyed ship forms as well, but they did not mean they were to slack off and underestimate their enemies or the importance of proper training. She didn't want to lose a second time.

"Tone." Kaga said, spotting the heavy cruiser. "What's the situation with training?"

"Ah, training? It's been going fine." Tone answered back. "I let one of the destroyer classes use the training grounds for now. It isn't official but more training doesn't hurt, right? After all, that's how they improve, right?"

"I suppose. Though if you truly want results, you shouldn't give such a lacking training experience." Kaga said, crossing her arms. "The seas are not like the waters here. You should simulate the experience."

"Simulation?" Tone shrugged her shoulders. "I don't think we need to get that heavy with 'em. They're only destroyers, kids in our eyes. We should cut 'em some slack."

"That slack makes the difference between a ship that's afloat and a ship's that sunken. Are you one of the many others on this base that seems to be caught up in the thrill of having a human body that you're forgetting your purpose as a warship?"

"E-Eh? No, no! I still remember it and all but even though we're still fighting a war, we shouldn't push ourselves. This isn't like the olden days where we could be fixed easily; we have human bodies and minds. We should take care of ourselves, ya know?~"

Kaga opened her mouth to speak and then found herself interrupted by the sound of water splashing and voices rising in joy and laughter.

"Ah, those must be the destroyers that I let have the training grounds. They seem like they're having fun, right Kaga?" Tone looked to her left and saw that the carrier was missing. She blinked, mystified. "Ka-Kaga?..."

[ship]

"Wahoo~!"

Fletcher let out a loud burst of cheer as she circled around the pole located in the middle of the training waters. While it was still technically training, she still liked to be able to test out her motors and fire her guns for a short while, especially now without Iowa firing at her like a maniac.

"Wow, Fletcher!" Shiratsuyu beamed as she moved to her. "I've never seen someone that fast since...since Shimakaze! Guess they weren't kidding about American destroyers and their speed."

"Mhm!" Mutsuki said with a nod, grouping with the other two. "My motors might not be as good but I'll be sure to not lose to you guys and give it my all!"

"Don't worry. I think you guys are probably better than me; after all, I still haven't sortied yet...plus there's a few things in my sailing I need to fix on." Fletcher then quickly tried to re-stabilize herself as her legs suddenly buckled and she almost performed a split, giving a cheeky grin right after. "Mainly that but still! I can't let that stop me from fighting the Abyssals!"

"Are you guys done yet?" Yuugumo called out from afar. While Mutsuki, Shiratsuyu, and Fletcher had continued to glide and skate across the waters, the others had decided to end their training for the day and merely sit on the sidelines.

"In a bit!" Fletcher called out. "I should probably learn how to use my guns correctly this week..."

"You know, perhaps the American living here won't be so bad." Kisaragi said. "So far, the ones that have been here are generally inviting."

Meanwhile on the waters, Mutsuki suddenly perked up when her ears had caught the sound of faint buzzing. "Huh? Do you guys hear something?"

"Hear something?" Fletcher repeated before slowly nodded her head. "Yeah...I think I heard something too. A faint buzzing sound; if I knew any better, it sounds like-"

"PLANES!" Shiratsuyu screamed out, pointing a finger upward.

Up in the sky was a squadron of Type 21 Zero Fighter planes, flying high above the now tense destroyers. Eyeing their targets, the white planes then dived and immediately opened fire upon them. Seeing this as a hostile attack, the destroyers quickly scrambled and tried to dodge as much shellfire as they could.

"What the-?!" Fletcher gasped, trying to shield herself from the water splashing upward in her face. Last time she checked, they weren't practicing with any carrier but who in the hell was sending on them and why?! "This is madness. We never asked for planes an-WHOA!"

Tripping over her own feet, the American faceplanted into the icy cold waters and then flipped right back onto her head; she was a bit dizzy but still fine and everything intact. Shaking her head, she spat out any seawater that got into her mouth. "Bleh! Stupid seawater!"

"Fletcher, in front of you!"

Looking upward, she could see it: a lone fighter heading straight towards her.

 _'Are you kiddding me?! We're doin' Kamikazes here?!'_

She can't get shot, not before her first sortie!

Lifting her handheld gun, Fletcher tried to aim as carefully as she could with madness around and fired. The shell hit dead-on, splitting apart one of the wings from the plane's body; smoke building up into the air, the plane suddenly nosedived and flew dangerously close past Fletcher and crashed into the waters.

"Whew." She wiped her brow. "At least, I don't die tonight."

"Fl-Fletcher!" Mutsuki skated to her, a panicked expression on her face. "Ar-Are you okay?!"

"Yeah, I'm fine but just what was that? Who the hell just send a bunch of planes on destroyers out of the blue!"

"Your skills in combat are lacking, destroyers."

All of the destroyers turned to Kaga who had just finished putting her bow back onto her back. "You can not expect to do well in actual combat if your training is full of errors. For starters, you all panicked and ran instead of trying to form a solid anti-air defense."

"O-Oh right..." Shiratsuyu said, rubbing the back of her head. "Totally forgot about that..."

"Are you all going to run like chickens when the planes that attack next time are enemy planes? I suggest you sharpen up your skills because this combined with your lack of sortie experience will make you most pitiful soldiers when we truly need you." The carrier continued. "I suggest that you work on your combat skills before even thinking about deploying. We don't need weak links."

While the other destroyers were quick to accept Kaga's words, Fletcher was a bit more stubborn to accept it.

"Hey!" Fletcher skated up to the curb of the sidewalk, looking at Kaga. "What's the big deal with suddenly launching planes? We were in the middle of training!"

"Simulation." Kaga said cooly, her eyes now on the American destroyer. So this was the girl that everyone on base was making a fuss about. If it wasn't for the fact that this one was American, she would've been regarded as any other destroyer on base: a rookie, therefore utterly useless until they perfected their skills in combat. "In order to train you for actual sorties."

"You could at least give us some kind of warning!" Fletcher snapped. "You don't just send planes on unsuspecting figures during training!"

"The enemies will be doing the same, correct? They will never warn you beforehand about their attacks so why should I?"

"Because this isn't the battlefield!" Fletcher however was cut short when Kaga had moved forward, her ice-cold gaze right on her.

"As long as there's war, every place can be considered the battlefield. Our human bodies does not mean we abandon our job as warships, as vessels fighting against humanity. Not only do you destroyers need to be aware of the fact but some of the others here. I will not lose here. Not again."

She then walked off, leaving Fletcher more than disgruntled.

"Man, what's her problem?" The destroyer said, putting her hands on her hips. "I get that we're in war but sheesh, there's a difference between training and insanity."

"That's just how Kaga is, ya know." Shiratsuyu said with a shrug. "Cold as steel, not a fan of mistakes but its that attitude that caused her to become one of the most strongest fighters on base. There hasn't been any Abyssal strong enough to withstand her planes!"

"Doesn't excuse how pissy she acts..." She grumbled before looking back at the training grounds. "So, you guys want another round?"

[ship]

"Ehhh? You met Kaga today?"

Fletcher wished Iowa knocked on the dang door before she came into her bedroom but she was the only one who was living in it so...maybe _some_ company was alright, even if Iowa was so difficult to keep up with.

"Yeah but not in the nice way." Fletcher said, brushing her hair. "It was the "hey let me hit you with a surprise attack during training" type of thing? Does she actually think we're still enemies?"

"Probably not but...there's still ships that carry that mindset. We might be fighting on the same side now but you can't just erase memories. After all, the admiral said that we're the only two American kanmusu in the world so far; while it's just us, it gives people hope and worry. There's a chance that more could be coming."

"The admiral must have a field day with paperwork." Fletcher said to the battleship. "I haven't been able to get into his office because there's been people coming left and right. How do humans even handle doing all that work? I mean being a warship is no easy job but fighting sounds way easier than sitting at a desk all day."

"Are you lonely, Fletcher?" Iowa then swooped Fletcher into a hug. "Aww, don't worry! Your big sister Iowa is here~!"

"Ack! I'm not, I'm not! Now stop trying to suffocate me!" The destroyer complained. Once Iowa released her, she then sighed. "I haven't even been out on a sortie and I already feel like taking a break~."

That's right...she hasn't been on any sorties at all yet. She only knows Abyssals by name and whatever people have told her and through photos; she's never seen one on her own or even fought a single one.

"The enemy that we're fighting. They appeared from the sea and have been terrorizing humanity ever since; we were called upon by people like Admiral Sakai to face them but...it hasn't been easy. We've lost a lot of people in the fight, some more personal than others."

What were they even like to fight? Were they just as powerful as the enemies Fletcher fought or something more?

"Hey Iowa..." Fletcher started. "What even are Abyssals like? Are they easy to fight against or what?"

"Abyssals?" Iowa waved her hand. "Come on, there's nothing we can't handle. After all, we've been through plenty of wars right?"

"You're useless."

"Don't be mean Fletcher~...though worrying about them will do you no good. You're just going to get yourself down for no reason; you were just summoned awhile ago! Relax!"

She wasn't budging. Just fucking perfect. Maybe she is right, there's no use worrying about Abyssals when she isn't on a sortie; it'll just mess up her sleep.

"Fine, I won't worry about it, alright? Now can you get out of my room please?"

"Aww, are you sure you don't want me to sleep with you?" The battleship said, inching closer to Fletcher. "I would be sure to give you all the comfort you need, k?~"

And out went Iowa.

"Good Night, Iowa."


End file.
